Asia Spotlight: Clifford Chance

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Clifford Chance is a member of London's elite magic circle and has offices in financial hubs around the world. Find out more about its magic touch in Asia...

Overview of Clifford Chance in Asia

History

Clifford Chance is one of the world's leading, pre-eminent law firms, helping clients achieve their goals by combining the highest global standards with local expertise. The firm has unrivalled scale and depth of legal resources across the three key markets of the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe and focuses on the core areas of commercial activity: capital markets; corporate and M&A; finance and banking; real estate; tax; pensions and employment; litigation and dispute resolution.

Our Asia Pacific network began with our Hong Kong and Singapore offices which opened in 1980 and 1981 respectively. Since then, we've invested to keep pace with our clients' businesses and worked on opportunities both within and beyond the region. Our network has continued to grow with more offices opened – Beijing (1985), Tokyo (1987) and Shanghai (1993. We now have five offices in the region.

Focusing on the future and anticipating evolving client needs is not only about understanding where clients will want legal advice but also about how they want that service delivered. During the past few years, Clifford Chance has been at the forefront of developments that have fundamentally changed the management of law firms – from the adoption of IT systems and sophisticated document management processes to investment in 'best-in-class' learning and development to creation of efficient and cost-effective offshore legal support, administrative, business research and technology centres. But whatever changes we have anticipated in the past are nothing compared with those that lie ahead of us.

Our sights are set firmly on staying in the vanguard of the legal industry as it evolves to meet the demands of a more complex, faster changing, more connected world.

Key practice areas: Global Financial Markets, Corporate, Litigation & Dispute Resolution.

Key sectors: Banks, consumer goods & retail, energy & resources, financial institutions, funds & investment management, financial investors, healthcare & life sciences, industrials/manufacturing, insurance, private equity, real estate, TMT and transport & logistics

Locations in Asia-Pacific: Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo (Clifford Chance has 34 offices globally)

View the firm’s rankings from the Chambers Asia-Pacific, Chambers Greater China Region, Chambers Global and Chambers FinTech guides.

 

Firm culture

As a single, fully integrated, global partnership, we pride ourselves on our approachable, collegial and team-based way of working.  

We always strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, which include corporates from all the commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, regulators, trade bodies and not-for-profit organisations. We provide them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the Firm's global standards with in-depth local expertise.

We are passionate about our diversity and inclusion agenda and understand that it is good for our staff and their loved ones, our firm and our clients, and society. We believe that to help achieve these values we have to be champions of, and campaigners for them across our network. The firm is filled with diverse talents bringing their individual life experiences and perspectives to the table which create a dynamic and vibrant working environment. We are immensely proud of our global affinity networks:

  • ACCELERATE>>> A global gender parity group to encourage commitment in achieving success in an inclusive and diverse culture.
  • ARCUS — An LGBTQ+ global employee network that aims to encourage an inclusive and integrated culture within Clifford Chance that gives colleagues the choice to be open and out.
  • ENABLE — A network that seeks to provide a safe, inclusive and open environment for colleagues with disability and long-term injury or condition to thrive at the firm.
  • REACH — The Race Equality and Celebrating Heritage (REACH) network aims to increase understanding and achieve equality of opportunity at all levels.

Last, but not least, we aim to be easy to work with, down to earth and approachable.

 

Strategy and future

Our vision is to be the global law firm of choice for the world's leading businesses of today and tomorrow.

Today our firm enjoys a position at the forefront of our profession. We are proud of what we achieve every day, working in collaboration and partnership with our clients and wider stakeholders to secure their long-term, sustainable success.

Our strategy recognises that the world we operate in is changing and that we too must be ready to change if we are to continue to lead and shape our sector:

  • Right markets – ensuring we have market-leading capabilities in the geographies that are most important to our clients today, and in those that are likely to be critical to their future growth
  • Right work for the right clients – ensuring we are the best placed firm to advise leading organisations internationally on their most complex, strategic and reputation critical opportunities and challenges, because these are the areas where the quality of our expertise and knowledge and the depth and breadth of our experience and platform will deliver the greatest impact and value
  • Innovation & Best Delivery – reshaping our services to make delivery ever quicker, simpler, more efficient and more robust; making the investments – including in people, processes and technology – that will help transform legal services globally and deliver a truly world class client service every time. Learn more about Innovation at Clifford Chance.
  • Best team - fostering an inclusive, ambitious and meritocratic environment; driving collaboration between lawyers and our business professionals, as 'one team'; working shoulder to shoulder with our clients; ensuring we recruit and develop the very best talent, who can enjoy the best careers.  All with the goal of delivering a differentiated client experience and excellent client outcomes.

The pursuit of the firm's vision and strategy is grounded in our most important commitment: to act as an ethical and responsible business.

 

Beijing

Office overview 

Core practice areas: Global Financial Markets, Corporate, Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Key sectors: Consumer goods & retail, energy & resources, financial institutions, funds & investment management, healthcare & life sciences, industrials/manufacturing, private equity, real estate, TMT and transport & logistics.

Local headcount: 55, full time equivalent, as of 30 April 2022, including trainees, paralegals, legal assistants, associates, senior associates, counsel, consultants and partners

Recruitment contact: BEI.Recruitment@CliffordChance.com

Location: 33/F China World Office Building 1, No 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Beijing 100004, China

Strategic focuses

We have been in China for more than three decades. We use our know-how, experience, and full-service capability to get the best possible results for clients.

Chinese clients know that we understand their business culture and that our international network gives them the reach and depth to make the most of international opportunities, whether it's an investment in a new energy project, expanding into a new market, or raising capital in foreign markets.

Work highlights

 

Hong Kong

 

Office overview

Core practice area: Global Financial Markets, Corporate, Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Key sectors: Banks, consumer goods & retail, energy & resources, funds & investment management, healthcare & life sciences, industrials/manufacturing, insurance, private equity, real estate, TMT and transport & logistics

Local headcount: 173, full time equivalent, as of 30 April 2022, including trainees, paralegals, legal assistants, associates, senior associates, counsel, consultants and partners

Recruitment contact: GradsHK@CliffordChance.com

Location: 27th Floor Jardine House, One Connaught Place, Hong Kong (SAR)

Strategic focuses

Our teams in Hong Kong all have strong links with, and first-hand experience of, the intricacies of the markets in mainland China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and other parts of the region. International clients value our on the ground regional network, particularly if they want to develop business in China or the region's other fast-growing economies. They know that our advice is based on hands-on local market experience.

Work highlights

 

Shanghai

Core practice areas: Global Financial Markets, Corporate, Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Key sectors: Consumer goods & retail, energy & resources, financial institutions, funds & investment management, healthcare & life sciences, industrials/manufacturing, private equity, real estate, TMT and transport & logistics.

Local lawyer headcount: 39, full time equivalent, as of 30 April 2022, including trainees, paralegals, legal assistants, associates, senior associates, counsel, consultants and partners

Recruitment contact: SHN.Recruitment@CliffordChance.com

Location: 25/F, HKRI Centre Tower 2, HKRI Taikoo Hui, 288 Shi Men Yi Road, Shanghai 200041, China

Strategic focuses

We have been in China for more than three decades. We use our know-how, experience, and full-service capability to get the best possible results for clients. Chinese clients know that we understand their business culture and that our international network gives them the reach and depth to make the most of international opportunities, whether it's an investment in a new energy project, expanding into a new market, or raising capital in foreign markets.

Work highlights

 

Singapore

Office overview

Core practice areas: Global Financial Markets, Corporate, Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Key sectors:Banks, consumer goods & retail, energy & resources, financial institutions, funds & investment management, financial investors, healthcare & life sciences, industrials/manufacturing, insurance, private equity, real estate, TMT and transport & logistics

Local lawyer headcount: 117, full time equivalent, as of 30 April 2022, including trainees, paralegals, legal assistants, associates, senior associates, counsel, consultants and partners

Recruitment contact: HRdirect.SG@CliffordChance.com

Location: Marina Bay Financial Centre, 25th Floor, Tower 3, 12 Marina Boulevard, Singapore 018982

Strategic focuses

In Singapore, we have a strong team of more than 120 lawyers combining local and international talent across all key areas of our practice.

In 2008, the Singapore Government awarded one of only six new Qualifying Foreign Law Practice licences to Clifford Chance, as part of its plans to further liberalise the legal sector. This licence allows us to practice and advise on a wide range of international law, and Singapore law in the permitted practice areas. The licence was renewed in 2014 and again in 2020.

In 2012, Cavenagh Law and Clifford Chance registered as a Formal Law Alliance in Singapore under the name Clifford Chance Asia. The Formal Law Alliance allows the two firms to provide the broadest range of Singapore and international law services from one platform with Singapore litigation representation provided through Cavenagh Law.

Work highlights

 

Tokyo

Core practice areas: Global Financial Markets, Corporate, Dispute Resolution

Key sectors: Technology, energy & infrastructure, real estate, banks, financial investors

Local lawyer headcount: 110, full time equivalent, as of 30 April 2022, including trainees, paralegals, legal assistants, associates, senior associates, counsel, consultants and partners

Recruitment contact: Tokyo.recruit@CliffordChance.com

Location: Palace Building, 3rd floor, 1-1, Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan

Strategic focuses

We have longstanding relationships with Japanese companies, banks, and institutions. When we work with these clients on cross-border matters their team often includes domestic lawyers and specialist lawyers from our 23-country network. We're used to working in these extended teams to cover every aspect of a deal – from fund- raising and regulatory filings to documenting international-law issues in Japanese.

Our lawyers work hard to keep clients briefed on new developments. These range from technical updates on regulatory changes and new forms of finance, to sharing our partners' deep sector-knowledge of market trends and opportunities. We are also always searching for innovative ways to deliver the best service to our clients.

Work highlights

 

Australia: Sydney and Perth

Office overviews

Core practice areas: Global Financial Markets, Corporate, Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Key sectors:Banks, consumer goods & retail, energy & resources, funds & investment management, healthcare & life sciences, industrials/manufacturing, insurance, private equity, real estate, TMT and transport & logistics

Recruitment contact: Grads.Australia@CliffordChance.com

Local headcounts

  • Sydney: 73, full time equivalent, as of 30 April 2022, including trainees, paralegals, legal assistants, associates, senior associates, counsel, consultants and partners
  • Perth: 37, full time equivalent, as of 30 April 2022, including trainees, paralegals, legal assistants, associates, senior associates, counsel, consultants and partners

Locations:

  • Sydney: Level 24, Brookfield Place, 10 Carrington Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
  • Perth: Ground Floor, 235 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000, Australia

Strategic focuses

We advise clients from all commercial and industrial sectors, financial institutions, governments, regulators, trade bodies and not for profit organisations on domestic, inbound and outbound work. With the ability to quickly put together teams that manage complex, fast-moving transactions in Australia and beyond, we seek to provide our clients with the highest quality advice and legal insight which combines our local knowledge with the breadth and depth of our global network. Our clients include many leading businesses, operating across a wide variety of markets, cultures and languages.

Work highlights

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